Couple on holiday find 16-foot python under hood of car

A couple on holiday in South Africa received a shock when they discovered a massive python hiding underneath their car's hood.

Marlene Swart and Leon Swanepoel had been visiting Kruger National Park at the time of their close encounter with the large snake, reported the Mirror.

The couple had been trying to spot lions when the 16-foot python slithered out and crawled under their Renault car. When the snake did not reemerge, the couple lifted the hood and found the snake "lying there without a care in the world."

"It was certainly a once in a lifetime experience that we will never forget,", Swart told the media. "When we spotted a couple of safari vehicles on the road we thought it was the lions we were looking for but we were informed there was a python in the grass."

"I was totally in shock and terrified," she said.

The couple had to drive the car three miles to the nearest gas station. At that time the hood was lifted again, and the snake was coaxed out. Eventually the python exited the car and slithered away as a crowd watched on [ pictures] in amazement.

The python was unharmed and the car was not damaged during the adventure.